And so ends the last of the original Overlord games I had not yet beaten. This isn't developed by Triumph like the other console games, but by Climax, and it's actually a really damn good adaptation for not being made by the home studio.

The controls are excellent. Instead of locking onto targets with the shoulder buttons, or using the right stick to guide your sweeping minions, you just aim at the screen with the Wii Remote to target anything and everything, and it works really well! It makes me really want to try to play the New Play Control versions of Pikmin on the Wii to see if they control any similarly, because this game absolutely nails it (and also apparently isn't a copy cat, as this game came out only 4 months later).

Additionally, the AI is fantastic! Usually you need to guide the minions around to absolutely anything you want them to do, whether it's pick up an equipment item, a lifeforce shard, a money pick-up, and it's usually such a pain. However, these Minions are super smart! Even reds, when sent at a target, will stay back and fire their ranged attacks as soon as they enter range, rather than sweep into melee range. I was continually surprised and happy with the executive decisions made on how smart your minions are. This game also has (almost) NO motion controls! No jumping, throwing, or sword fighting is controlled by motion controls, and it made the experience a much better one for me.

The presentation is also fairly nice as well. The game doesn't go for the Alice: Madness Returns-like style that the main games have, but instead has a more story-book quality to it, with brighter colors, and less sharply contrasting lines. It is a Wii game, so the textures and models aren't as detailed, but they still manage to look nice, and is actually one of the nicest looking Wii games (in terms of anti-aliasing) that I've seen on the component-HD settings. It definitely has some of the most forgettable music of the series though, which is a shame, but ultimately not important for me.

The game is definitely a more kid-friendly iteration of Overlord, fitting for the Wii-native experience they were going for. Never do enemies get horribly blown apart, there is no talk of people (or even things) gruesomely dying, boss monsters don't even usually die when you beat them, and if they do, it's usually in a Disney-esque fashion (getting buried in a rock-slide, or falling behind a wall, slowly dropping to the ground so their other character can mourn them, etc.). There are a cooouple somewhat questionable lines ("We'll feed those Dwarves their beards!" for one example), but I was continuously on the lookout for really dark humor like the DS game, but it just never showed up. The humor is much more Monty Python, in flavor, and is still very good

Even the story, in the end, boils down to not enslaving the land, or killing people, you can't even hurt the villagers, let alone fight them (although you do fight bandits completely clothed in ninja-garb at one point, but we all know bandits aren't real people anyway ). You're just trying to bring peace to the realm so your father, the Duke, can have some peace and quiet (and so people will stop calling him such a terrible ruler) and make your awful older siblings stop fighting. The plot and setting definite have a 90's Disney-esque quality to them in several respects.

The game's difficulty is also VERY easy compared to the other games, both in combat and in puzzles. Your minions are almost indestructable, even the squishier blue and green ones, and the AI is so good on the blues, they usually resurrect any stray green or brown that happens to die anyway. You also never control more than 20 minions at a time (more for mechanical limitations, I would guess, from how the game can chug in enemy-full earlier zones with a 20-minion troop), so there's not so much micro-managing on that front either.

There is a "Throttle" mechanic where you grab a minion by the neck, shake him like a soda can, and then send him forward to explode though. That's also like the ONE command that's controlled with waggling (to shake them up) XD. I'm not sure that's the most kid friendly thing in the world Xp

Verdict: Highly Recommended. The first game is still my favorite, but this holds a strong 2nd place. If you wanted to get a not so experienced gamer (or someone more feint of heart) into a Pikmin-style game, and Pikmin is too intimidating or scary for them, then Overlord Dark Legend is a fantastic choice. Aside from that, it's also just a blast to play! It's a little short at only 8 hours, but I thought it was the perfect size for what it was

I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me

Just got ALL the Scott Pilgrim vs the World trophies, including both DLC packs. It's fun playing with a second player. Too bad I'll never get the four player experience as they're aren't enough people online now.

alienjesus wrote:I mentioned this elsewhere, but not sure if you saw it.

Have you played Little King's Story on Wii? It has a similar gameplay style to Pikmin and Overlord, and I loved it.

I've played Little King's Story, actually. It's super fun, right?! It's sooo cute! The final boss battle is SO FUCKING disproportionately hard compared to the rest of the game though, I fear it is a game I shall never beat Xp (Also, getting villagers to follow you to certain places, especially up those narrow staircases can be SO annoying).

However, the last time I played it was around the time it came out. I don't have that copy anymore (it was a rental), but I do have A copy, so perhaps that will be up for a go after I'm done Overlording :3

Thank you for reminding me of its existence!

I identify everyone via avatar, so if you change your avatar, I genuinely might completely forget who you are. -- Me